Area high school football coaches and players were asked one question in particular – what’s the vibe going into the season?
Some offered similar answers to the activity inside the weight room and on the field as the first day of official practice Wednesday approached while others gave more outside-the-box answers.
Here’s a look at what the coaches and players had to say:
Swansboro coach Rodney Beasley
“You walk into the weight room and you’ll hear ‘Come on man. You know you could lift a little bit more. You can push a little bit more.’ That’s something that was missing. So, it’s good to see them push each other in the weight room and on the field. The coaches don’t have to tell them to stop slacking because the kids are already doing that. The yare self-policing themselves.”
Jacksonville senior running back Amaree Betton
“I feel like we have to work harder, and everyone is determined to get our work done and to get better. We’re going to have a good season. We always lose a lot … but we will have a great season.”
Northside senior safety Matthew Smoot
“I look back at my freshman year, I was very small. But we played J.H. Rose and they tried me, and I almost intercepted it. When I got to my junior year, I realized I was moving differently.”
East Duplin coach Battle Holley
“I feel like we’re going to have an ability to throw the ball at times. Dominic Hall has come from the basketball team. That’ll be a big plus having a guy out there at 6-5 with good hands.”
Jacksonville senior linebacker Zach Patterson
“It’s the early morning lifts, trying to get a good start to the day. Everyone wants to win. If somebody does bad, someone holds him accountable.”
White Oak coach Jonathan Byrd
“I think a big part of it is the amount of current college players who come back and train with us. It really pushes them because that’s their goal. They see the guys who have been here and who have walked in the same halls, have success. That pushes them to try their be the best player they can be.”
Northside coach Kendrick Pollock
“It started back in their freshmen and sophomore years when we were playing in the Pitt County conference. We could have kept some guys down on JV and they would have competed for a JV championship, but we decided to bring them up. We took our lumps, but we knew eventually … we would be somewhere else, and that we would be battle-tested. That’s what happened. The crazy part is that nobody really knows the history of Northside. As far as they know, we’ve never won anything. They don’t know about the regional championship games the team has played in and about playing in four straight. They know about the (basketball) state championship because you see the poster on the wall in the gym.”
Croatan coach Andrew Gurley
“It starts with our senior captains and then trickles down to the rest of our team. I feel like one thing we’ve always been good at is focusing on one thing at once. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Dixon coach Bobby Williams
“Before, everybody thought we were just the same old Dixon, and we’re not. Last year we were able to turn a few heads and raise a few eyebrows. We are looking to expand upon that and get better.”
Liberty Christian coach Shawn Richmond
“I’ve told them that it’s not so much pressure, it’s the expectation of stepping it up. Let’s not settle for beating some good teams and making it to the conference championship. Let’s just go out and do it.”
Richlands senior running back Camden Good
“Yeah, he’ll (coaching father Bill Good) definitely get on me. He gets on other players, but he gets on me just as much, if not more, because there’s no favoritism. He wants all of us to get better.”
Southwest coach Zach Garvey
“I’ve had everything on the board, from how many points we scored and our 2-8 record. I put it on them and myself that we are going to fix it and that we have to be all in. Facing adversity is the biggest thing. How are we going to respond if somebody comes in with a little more swagger than us and punches us in the mouth?”
Dixon senior tight end Luke Tranfaglia
“He’s (Bobby Williams) always been a very hands-on coach. He always puts players first and tells us that our team is supposed to be player-led. We love (former coach Kelly Davis) and he brought a lot. He was a great coach. But Coach Bobby is also capable of being head coach and he’s brought the same energy.”
Richlands senior linebacker Payton Hughes
“We have a good group of guys who support each other and help each other. I want people to look at us and be like ‘Dang, those guys love each other.’”